On Tuesday, the Buffalo men’s basketball team had its first extended moments without its best player.
The Bulls (14-10, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) dropped a heartbreaker to Toledo 71-69, but the game was merely a backdrop for the larger story: sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden’s absence due to “conduct detrimental to the team.” After the game, head coach Nate Oats said that Bearden was “out indefinitely.”
We’ve already seen the Bulls without Bearden. He missed two games in the middle of season due to a foot injury. The Bulls had some success when he was injured – a 2-0 record – and they were seconds away from a perfect 3-0 record in games played without him.